World Bank: Global food prices easing but still sky-highThe Economic TimesGlobal food prices have eased from their July records but remain very high, putting more people in danger of hunger and malnutrition-related disease, the World Bank said Thursday. "A new norm of high prices seems to be consolidating," said Otaviano Canuto, the World Bank's Vice President for Poverty Reduction.
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Fast food workers picket for higher pay, union rightsThe Wall Street JournalDozens of fast food chain workers gathered outside of McDonald's, Burger King and other restaurants in New York City Thursday, protesting for higher pay and the right to form a union. Mobilized by New York Communities for Change, an organization that previously helped unionize car wash and supermarket employees in the area, cashiers and cooks came together in hopes of roughly doubling their pay to $15 an hour.

As clock ticks down, lawmakers, USDA push for new farmReutersWith time running out, agricultural leaders in Congress vowed to do everything they can to pass a farm bill that cuts spending by at least $23 billion — savings that could assure support by lawmakers determined to reduce the federal deficit.

GOP rejects White House fiscal cliff offerPOLITICONegotiations to resolve the nation's fiscal crisis came to a virtual standstill Thursday, as congressional leaders and the White House dug deeper into their partisan positions over taxes, just 33 days away from tax hikes and spending cuts that could send the country back into recession.

Rural turnout plummets in 2012POLITICOVoter turnout declined across the nation in 2012 compared to 2008, but it plummeted in rural America. According to an analysis by the Daily Yonder, which covers rural issues, rural presidential turnout dropped by twice the national average this year, sinking from 67.2 percent in 2008 to 54.9 percent.
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Republicans' Senate silver liningThe Washington PostIt's not an easy time to be a Republican these days. Not only did the party lose at all three levels — presidential, Senate, governor — on Nov. 6 but the 2012 election also exposed long-term demographic problems for which the party has no easy answers. And yet, amid the dark cloud cast by the election a silver lining has begun to appear in the form of two top-tier Senate recruits for the 2014 election.MoreShare this article >

US, Chilean presidents discuss trade agreementNZweekU.S. President Barack Obama spoke on phone Thursday with his Chilean counterpart Sebastian Pinera about the free trade agreement called the Trans-Pacific Partnership, said the White House. The two leaders discussed ways to strengthen the global economy through job creation and expanded trade, including by "moving together expeditiously on the Trans-Pacific Partnership," the White House said in a statement.

Study: US diets not up to US standardsReutersIn findings that may surprise few, a broad comparison of U.S. dietary standards and real Americans' eating habits found that people fall short of nutritional recommendations overall — and some groups are worse than others.MoreShare this article >

What's for lunch? Part 1WCAX-TVFor some, the lunch menu is full of favorites at Champlain Elementary School in Burlington, Vt. "Apples, mac and cheese and chi-chi beans," student Paco Barcia said. For others, it's hit or miss.

EU council approves lactic acid in meat processingEuropoliticsThe European Union member states' agriculture ministers gave the green light Thursday for the use of lactic acid as a decontaminant in beef processing, a move strongly criticized by consumer groups, which say it undermines food safety standards. The action comes after strong pressure from the U.S., which claimed it could not fill its beef export quota to the EU unless it lifted the ban. MoreShare this article >

FDA grants FSIS request for higher meat irradiation levelsFederal RegisterThe Food and Drug Administration is amending the food additive regulations to provide for the safe use of a 4.5 kilogray maximum absorbed dose of ionizing radiation to treat unrefrigerated (as well as refrigerated) uncooked meat, meat byproducts and certain meat food products to reduce levels of foodborne pathogens and extend shelf life. MoreShare this article >

FDA increases poultry irradiation limitsFederal RegisterThe Food and Drug Administration is amending the food additive regulations to increase the maximum dose of ionizing radiation permitted in the treatment of poultry products, to include specific language intended to clarify the poultry products covered by the regulations and to remove the limitation that any packaging used during irradiation of poultry shall not exclude oxygen. MoreShare this article >

Third-party accreditation standards sent to OMBFood Chemical NewsFDA sent to the Office of Management and Budget, on Saturday, its proposed FDA Food Safety Modernization Act-related standards for bodies that will accredit third-party auditors poised to assume a greater role in overseeing the practices of foreign food suppliers.MoreShare this article >

Under fire, CFIA denies inspectors ignored contaminationCTV NewsThe revelation that Canadian federal meat inspectors were ordered to ignore carcass contamination reverberated on Parliament Hill Thursday after the leaking of a Canadian Food Inspection Agency memo that instructed beef inspectors at the XL Foods plant in Brooks, Alta., to ignore visible fecal and intestinal contamination on carcasses being processed for sale to Canadians.
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Criminal charges most-used FSIS enforcement tool in Q3Food Safety NewsThe convictions and sentences entered for a Gardena, Calif., meat company and its president were the centerpiece of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's criminal enforcement actions during the third quarter of the federal fiscal year, which ended June 30.MoreShare this article >

Kroger lifts forecast after stronger Q3The Associated Press via MSNBCKroger Co. is raising its earnings outlook for the year after the nation's largest traditional supermarket chain reported a third-quarter profit that topped Wall Street expectations. As shopping habits change, the Cincinnati-based company has been experimenting with new formats such as its larger "Marketplace" stores that have a bigger footprint and sell general merchandise in addition to groceries and its smaller "Ruler" stores that focus primarily on cheaper, private-label products.MoreShare this article >

Study: Combined method reduces E. coli on spinachFood Production DailyCombining continuous ultrasound treatment with chlorine washing can reduce E. coli on spinach leaves, according to scientists from the University of Illinois who say combining decontamination techniques is the key to maximum safety.MoreShare this article >

INCPEN: Food packaging changes as lifestyles evolveFood Production DailyPackaging is like a mirror to social developments, fashions and trends, which enables constant response to innovation, according to INCPEN, the Industry Council for Packaging and the Environment.MoreShare this article >

Food additive producer sets price of shares for upcoming IPOBusinessWorld OnlineD&L Industries Inc., a colorant and food additive maker set to list next month, has priced its initial public offering shares at the equivalent of 11 cents apiece, according to a Nov. 26 memorandum posted on the Philippine Stock Exchange website.MoreShare this article >